Retirement · Timing •
Can I retire at 60 in Australia? What you can access, and what the seven-year gap costs
The rules that apply at 60, the seven years before the Age Pension, the figures to check, and what Victoria adds for retirees in Melbourne.
Yes, you can retire at 60 in Australia. Anyone born on or after 1 July 1964 reaches preservation age at 60, so you can access your super once you stop work. Withdrawals from a taxed fund are tax-free from 60. The Age Pension does not start until 67, so your super and savings must cover a seven-year gap.
- Preservation age is 60 for everyone born on or after 1 July 1964.
- At 60 you can access super once an employment arrangement ends. At 65 you can access it whether you work or not.
- Lump sums and pension payments from a taxed fund are tax-free from 60.
- Age Pension age is 67, so retiring at 60 means seven years with no pension and no Commonwealth Seniors Health Card.
- Super in accumulation is not counted for JobSeeker while you are under Age Pension age.
- ASFA’s comfortable budget is $56,166 a year for a single and $78,998 for a couple, June quarter 2026.
- In Victoria, the Seniors Card is available from 60 with no income or assets test. The state rates and energy concessions need a Centrelink concession card.
How this article was put together. Every figure was checked on 14 October 2026 against the ATO, Moneysmart, Services Australia, the Department of Social Services, ASFA and the ABS. Each section names its sources. Caps and thresholds change on 1 July, and pension settings on 20 March and 20 September, so check the dates against today’s.
Can you retire at 60 in Australia?
Yes. There is no legal retirement age in Australia. The two ages that matter are preservation age, when you can first access super, and Age Pension age, when government support can start. For anyone born on or after 1 July 1964, preservation age is 60. Age Pension age is 67.
| Date of birth | Preservation age |
|---|---|
| Before 1 July 1960 | 55 |
| 1 July 1960 to 30 June 1961 | 56 |
| 1 July 1961 to 30 June 1962 | 57 |
| 1 July 1962 to 30 June 1963 | 58 |
| 1 July 1963 to 30 June 1964 | 59 |
| 1 July 1964 or later | 60 |
Someone turning 60 in 2026 was born in 1966, so preservation age 60 now applies to everyone reaching it.
Sources: ATO: when you can withdraw your super (last updated 10 July 2026); Services Australia: who can get Age Pension.
Can you retire at 60 and access your super?
Yes, once you meet a condition of release. At 60 the test is simpler than it is between preservation age and 59.
| Your age | What you must do to access super |
|---|---|
| Preservation age to 59 | Stop gainful employment with no intention of working again |
| 60 to 64 | End an employment arrangement after turning 60. If you keep another job, only the super built up to that point is released |
| 65 and over | Nothing. Super can be accessed whether you are working or not |
| Preservation age and still working | Start a transition to retirement income stream, capped at 10% of the balance a year |
So if you retire at 60, you can access your super. If you leave one job at 60 and start another, the super you had at that point is released and new contributions are preserved until the next condition of release.
Source: ATO: conditions of release (last updated 13 October 2025).
Do you pay tax on super if you retire at 60?
From 60, lump sums and income stream payments from a taxed fund are tax-free. Between preservation age and 59 the rules are different.
| Payment from a taxed fund | Aged 60 and over | Preservation age to 59 |
|---|---|---|
| Lump sum | Tax-free | Tax-free up to the low rate cap of $260,000 in 2026–27, then 15% plus Medicare levy |
| Income stream | Tax-free | Taxed at your marginal rate, less a 15% offset |
Different rates apply to an untaxed element, which some public sector funds have. Check your fund’s statement for a taxable component marked “untaxed”.
Sources: ATO: payments from super (low rate cap, last updated 16 September 2026); ATO: tax on super benefits.
What is the seven-year gap when you retire at 60?
It is the period between 60 and Age Pension age, which is 67. In those years you cannot get the Age Pension or the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. Your super, savings and any other income have to cover every cost.
The gap also runs the other way. ABS life tables for 2021–2023 give a 60-year-old man 24.2 more years on average and a 60-year-old woman 27.1. Retiring at 60 instead of 67 adds seven years of spending and removes seven years of contributions, from a balance that may need to last 25 years or more.
Moneysmart describes this directly: some people stop work before Age Pension age and use super or savings to cover the gap, then check Age Pension eligibility at 67. You can lodge an Age Pension claim up to 13 weeks before you reach 67.
Sources: ABS: life expectancy 2021–2023; Moneysmart: super and the Age Pension; Services Australia: how to prepare to claim Age Pension.
Can you retire at 60 with $500,000, $800,000 or $1 million?
The amount on its own does not answer it. What matters is how many years the money must cover before any pension, and what you spend each year. The ASFA Retirement Standard gives a benchmark for spending.
| ASFA Retirement Standard, June quarter 2026 | Single | Couple |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable, per year | $56,166 | $78,998 |
| Modest, per year | $36,548 | $52,690 |
| Lump sum ASFA says supports a comfortable retirement | $630,000 | $730,000 |
ASFA’s lump sums assume retirement at 67, drawing down all capital, a part Age Pension and a 6% return. They are not built for retirement at 60.
That last line is the point. The lump sums include a part pension from 67. Retire at 60 and the first seven years have no pension at all. The table below shows what each balance has to do before 67, using ASFA’s comfortable budget and no investment return, so it is a floor, not a forecast.
| Balance at 60 | Seven years of comfortable spending, single | Left at 67, single | Seven years of comfortable spending, couple | Left at 67, couple |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500,000 | $393,162 | $106,838 | $552,986 | Shortfall of $52,986 |
| $800,000 | $393,162 | $406,838 | $552,986 | $247,014 |
| $1,000,000 | $393,162 | $606,838 | $552,986 | $447,014 |
Our arithmetic: ASFA comfortable budget × 7 years, with no investment return, no inflation and no other income. Real outcomes depend on returns, spending and the order of returns in the early years.
Investment returns, a lower budget, part-time work or a partner still working all change the result. Moneysmart’s free Retirement Planner lets you enter your own age, balance and retirement age. For a couple with $1 million, we work through the retire-at-60 scenario in our guide on what $1 million in super means for a couple.
Sources: ASFA Retirement Standard, June quarter 2026; Moneysmart: Retirement Planner.
Can you retire at 60 and still work?
Yes, in two ways. If you end one job after 60, the super built up to that point is released even if you take another job. Or you can keep working and draw a transition to retirement income stream from preservation age, limited to 10% of the balance each year. We explain the second route in our guide to how a transition to retirement pension works at 60.
Working past 60 also keeps employer contributions coming in. The super guarantee rate is 12% of ordinary time earnings for 2026–27 and the ATO lists 12% for 1 July 2027 onwards.
Source: ATO: super guarantee rate (last updated 17 April 2026). Conditions of release: ATO page cited in the access section.
What can you get from Centrelink if you retire at 60?
Not the Age Pension and not the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. Both start at Age Pension age. Two things do apply before 67.
JobSeeker Payment
JobSeeker is for people aged 22 to Age Pension age who are looking for work. It is income and assets tested, and a liquid assets waiting period of up to 13 weeks can apply. The reserve is $5,000 for a single and $10,000 for a couple.
Super is not counted before Age Pension age
Super held in accumulation by a person under Age Pension age is exempt from the income and assets tests. Once you start drawing it as an income stream, or withdraw it and hold it outside super, it is assessed under the usual rules for that asset.
Sources: Services Australia: who can get JobSeeker Payment; DSS Guide 3.1.2.20, liquid assets waiting period (reviewed 1 July 2026); DSS Guide 4.8.2.40, superannuation below Age Pension age; Services Australia: who can get a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card.
What happens to your insurance when you retire at 60?
Insurance inside super has its own age limits. Moneysmart states that total and permanent disability cover in super usually ends at 65 and life cover usually ends at 70. Cover is also cancelled by law once an account has been inactive for 16 months. If you withdraw your whole balance or close an account at 60, any cover attached to it ends.
Source: Moneysmart: insurance through super.
What changes at 60 if you live in Melbourne?
Super, tax and Age Pension rules are national. What differs in Victoria is the state concessions, and at 60 most of them are still out of reach.
| Victorian concession | Available at 60? | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Victorian Seniors Card | Yes | Aged 60 or over, working under 35 hours a week or fully retired, permanent resident living in Victoria. Not income or assets tested |
| Council rates concession | Not on its own | Needs a Pensioner Concession Card or an eligible Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card |
| Annual electricity concession | Not on its own | Needs a Pensioner Concession Card, Health Care Card or Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card |
| Winter gas concession | Not on its own | Same cards as electricity. Applies 1 May to 31 October |
| Vehicle registration discount | Not on its own | Needs a Pensioner Concession Card or Health Care Card |
The Seniors Card gives concession public transport fares, free weekend travel across any two consecutive zones, and discounts from participating businesses. It does not unlock the rates or energy concessions. Those need a Centrelink card, and the Pensioner Concession Card comes with the Age Pension at 67. Before then, a Health Care Card is the only route for a person on JobSeeker or under the Low Income Health Care Card limits.
For retirees in Bundoora and across Melbourne’s north, the rates concession is applied for through the council. Banyule, Darebin and Whittlesea each publish the form and a postal or email address on their rates pages.
Sources: Seniors Online Victoria: Seniors Card (reviewed 11 December 2025); Victorian Government: municipal rates concession; annual electricity concession; winter gas concession; VicRoads: concession holder discounts; City of Whittlesea: pensioner rebates.
Can you still add to super after you retire at 60?
Yes. The caps for 2026–27 are $32,500 for concessional contributions and $130,000 for non-concessional contributions. Two rules let you put in more:
- Carry-forward. Unused concessional cap from the previous five financial years can be used if your total super balance was under $500,000 at the previous 30 June.
- Bring-forward. If you are under 75 at some point in the year and your total super balance is under $1.84 million, you can contribute up to $390,000 of non-concessional contributions over three years.
The general transfer balance cap, which limits how much can move into a tax-free retirement pension, is $2.1 million for 2026–27.
Sources: ATO: contributions caps (last updated 11 September 2026); ATO: non-concessional contributions cap; ATO: transfer balance cap.
How do you check whether you can retire at 60?
- Confirm your preservation age. If you were born on or after 1 July 1964, it is 60.
- Check how you will meet a condition of release. At 60 you need to end an employment arrangement. At 65 you need nothing.
- Add up what you spend in a year. Compare it with the ASFA comfortable and modest budgets.
- Multiply by seven. That is the spending the gap years must cover before any Age Pension.
- Count every source for the gap years. Super, savings outside super, a partner’s income, and any part-time work.
- Check your insurance before you move anything. Cover in super ends when an account is closed, and TPD cover usually ends at 65.
- Model it. Use the Moneysmart Retirement Planner, then test a lower budget and a later date.
- Diarise 13 weeks before your 67th birthday. That is the earliest an Age Pension claim can be lodged.
If you would like the gap years modelled with you, see our superannuation and retirement planning service in Melbourne.
Sources: the ATO, Moneysmart, ASFA and Services Australia pages cited in the sections above. Minimum drawdown rates: Moneysmart: account-based pensions.
Terms used in this guide
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Preservation age | The age from which you can access super once you meet a condition of release. It is 60 for anyone born on or after 1 July 1964. |
| Condition of release | An event that lets a fund pay your super, such as retiring after preservation age, ending a job after 60, or turning 65. |
| Age Pension age | The age from which you can claim the Age Pension. It is 67. |
| Transition to retirement income stream | A pension drawn from super while you keep working, available from preservation age and capped at 10% of the balance a year. |
| Low rate cap | The amount of a taxed lump sum a person between preservation age and 59 can take tax-free. It is $260,000 in 2026–27. |
| Total super balance | The value of all your super at 30 June, used to test the carry-forward and bring-forward rules. |
Definitions follow the ATO pages cited above.
Frequently asked questions
Can I retire at 60 in Australia?
If I retire at 60, can I access my super?
Can I retire at 60 and get my super as a lump sum?
Is super tax-free at 60?
Can I retire at 60 and still work?
Can I retire at 60 with $500,000?
Can I afford to retire at 60?
Can I get the Age Pension if I retire at 60?
Does my super count for JobSeeker if I retire at 60?
Can I still contribute to super after I retire at 60?
The bottom line
You can retire at 60 in Australia and access your super tax-free once an employment arrangement ends. What changes is the seven years before the Age Pension, when your super and savings carry every cost. ASFA’s lump sums assume a pension from 67, so they do not answer the question on their own. The figures here are current as at 14 October 2026.
Plan My Wealth is based in Bundoora and works with clients across Melbourne’s northern suburbs, and Australia-wide by video. The first consultation is free.
Book a free consultation
With 17+ years’ experience and over 1,000 retirement plans built for Australian families, Manny works with clients aged 50 to 65 across Bundoora, metropolitan Melbourne, and nationally via video consultation. His focus is helping pre-retirees replace uncertainty with a clear, evidence-based plan.
The Watermans Bundoora, Level 2, 1/3 Janefield Drive, Bundoora VIC 3083
+61 433 564 003 · manny@planmywealth.com.au · Book a free consultation
How we checked this
Each section above links to the government or industry page it relies on. Each source is linked once, in the section that uses it. Links were opened on 14 October 2026.
General advice warning. This information is general only. It does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting, think about whether it is right for you and seek personal advice. Super, tax and Centrelink rules change regularly and are current as at 14 October 2026.
